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Content warning for canine death and grief.
I’m going to break from the usual format this week. I’m not really in the proper head space to do much of anything.
As many of you may have seen on the socials, we lost our dear Tesla yesterday. After almost fifteen years together, her loss has left a giant hole in our lives.
And for those who read the post from two weeks ago, I told you I fucking hate this time of year.
So, instead of my usual reviews and rants and such, I’m just going to tell the story of how she and Titus came into our lives.
But first, a little backstory—
The Mrs and I each had a history of sharing our lives with does. Our family dog Chowder, a spaniel terrier mix, died around the same time as her dog Tinkerbell, a tea-cup poodle. After we had been together for a while, we decided that we needed a dog. Keep in mind, this was before we had a house—we were each still living with our parents.
Kai-Long was part of an unplanned litter from a friend of a friend. They weren’t sure of his parentage, but we determined he was a GSD/Chow Chow mix. They thought he would be a medium sized dog.
He ended up being 120 and able to put his front paws on my shoulders and look me in the eye when on his hind legs. He was a wonderful dog, but his time with us was a short six years.
The following year we adopted Dervish. The Mrs said that she wanted a smaller dog this time around. He was a member of a litter that had been dropped off at a vet and raised there until we adopted him. The mother was a bit undernourished when abandoned, but they thought he would be a medium sized dog. He was 100 pounds full grown. This wonderful boy was with us for almost nine years.
When we started looking again, The Mrs said she was getting a small dog and I could find a larger companion so long as we adopted them around the same time so they would grow up together. Either way, she was getting her small dog.
The Last Day Dog Rescue organization was having an adoption event. There was a small dog that The Mrs wanted to meet and a medium sized dog I wanted to meet. The small dog was adopted before the event, but we went anyway. When we got there, the dog that I had wanted to see was playing with a little boy and you could tell that they were a match. I fully admit that I am a monster, but I’m not a complete bastard. There’s no way I would come between a boy and his dog <nods to Uncle Harlan>.
Fortunately I didn’t have to. There was a litter of puppies there and we absolutely fell in love with them. We were especially interested in Danica and Gordon (all of the dogs were named after Nascar drivers). They were expected to be medium sized dogs (can you guess what happened?) Another couple had also inquired about the female, but the two were bonded and the foster was hoping to keep them together. They brought both of the puppies to our house a few weeks later for a home visit. We were extremely lucky. They approved both of our applications and a short time later we brought Tesla and Titus home.
Tesla was named for her electric personality and the muzzle markings that looked like a little mustache. Yes, she was named after the inventor, NOT the car. Titus just seemed to fit the young lad. As they grew, we found that there was a bigger and bigger size variation, more than what would usually be accounted for by gender differences. We did DNA testing, which was relatively new at the time, because we are huge dorks. It turned out that despite being from the same litter, they had different fathers. Titus grew to be about 85 pounds while Tesla stayed around 35.
Naturally, the larger dog gravitated towards the woman who was hoping for a small dog this time around.
We lost Titus a few years ago, just after their 12th birthday. Two years later, Tesla has gone to join her brother. I’m sure that they are chasing each other and a yard full of squirrels.
And now, as a reward for getting through that, some pictures of T&T through the years.
I graduated, but no one told me I would have to wear a cap!
So serious.
Tesla heels to dad. Titus heels to Tesla.
Bonded.
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